Moses Lake man saves his own life after crash

Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 11:02:40 am PDT
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Candice Boutilier/Columbia Basin Herald A Moses Lake man survived nearly two days waiting to be rescued after crashing his motorcycle off Sage Road Sunday afternoon. The Moses Lake Fire Department rescued the man Tuesday afternoon.

Waited nearly two days for rescue

By Candice Boutilier
Herald staff writer

MOSES LAKE - Law enforcement credits a Moses Lake man with saving his own life after crashing his motorcycle and going unnoticed by vehicles driving past him for two days.

Bradley Beckstrom, 43, Moses Lake, reportedly crashed his sport motorcycle off Sage Road near Interstate 90 in Moses Lake, Grant County Sgt. Ron Renken said. It appears he crashed Sunday afternoon and was not located until Tuesday morning.

Beckstrom's 2006 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle went off the steep, sandy embankment into a bushy reservoir area where he was not visible to drivers passing by.

For roughly two days, Beckstrom tried to catch the attention of passing drivers. He threw his wallet near the roadway hoping someone would see it and stop, Renken said. He also threw his red sweater into the tree limbs above him, which was eventually noticed by law enforcement.

"That's what saved his life," Renken said. "He saved his own life, no doubt about it."

He said Beckstrom had the right mindset to stay alive and did everything he was able to do to get noticed.

"He was going to survive this crash one way or another," Renken said.

When Beckstrom didn't come into work Monday in Royal City, his employer requested a welfare check, Renken said. Deputies checked his home finding the television on. It appeared someone just left the residence.

The state of the home was deemed suspicious and a search effort began, he said.

Deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers began searching the roadways between his home and his work with vehicles and a search plane, Renken said.

A trooper patrolling Sage Road spotted the red sweater and walked down the embankment to investigate, he said. Beckstrom was located and the Moses Lake Fire Department dispatched to rescue him.

Firefighters ventured down a steep embankment to reach Beckstrom and place him on a backboard. Once he was properly restrained, the backboard was pulled up the embankment with a rope as firefighters lifted and guided it above ground.

Beckstrom was transported to Samaritan Healthcare and later flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further treatment, Renken said.

He said Beckstrom is described as an experienced motorcycle rider.

Moses Lake Towing removed the motorcycle from the reservoir Tuesday afternoon. Law enforcement remained at the scene throughout the day investigating how the crash happened.

Details concerning his injuries were unavailable.

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